COMMENTARY

“Quite simply, the County Commission’s appeal of the PSC ruling is going nowhere. It’s just another $180,000 wasted by so called ‘conservative’ Republicans. To say the five members of the Indian River County Commission have been spending money like drunken sailors would be an insult to sailors.”

MARK SCHUMANN

In collecting from the Indian River County Commission more than $100,000 in legal fees for a failed petition to the Florida Public Service Commission, special counsel, Floyd Self, has done at least one thing right. He’s made money for himself and his law firm. What he is accomplishing for the taxpayers of Indian River County, though, is hard to see.

Presenting the County’s case for essentially forcing Vero Beach out of the electric utility business, Self got his hat handed to him by a PSC that rejected his every argument. Now Self is acting on the County’s behalf in appealing the PSC ruling to the Florida Supreme Court. Just yesterday, word came from the Court that the County’s appeal was submitted without the necessary $300 filing fee. Could it be that Indian River County is short on cash? According to an estimate by County Attorney Dylan Reingold, the County Commission’s decision to appeal the PSC ruling is likely to cost taxpayers no less than $80,000.

With the County Commission ready to spend more than $2.7 million in a long-shot legal challenge to All Aboard Florida, what’s another $180,000 lost in trying to drive Vero Beach out of the electric utility business?  After all, it’s not like the County needs the money to help address mold infestation in the County’s fire stations.

The $80,000 being spent by the County Commission in appealing the PSC ruling is nothing more than the public relations price commissioners are willing to pay to be able to say to voters, “We’re not giving up.”

What the commissioners are not telling voters is that the last time the Florida Supreme Court overturned a PSC decision was in 2000. What the state’s high court reversed was a controversial 3-2 decision approving construction of a “merchant power plant.”

The PSC ruling, which paved the way for Duke Energy to construct a “merchant power plant,” was problematic because it is illegal in Florida to build a power plant without first identifying customers to be served. Then Gov. Jeb Bush wanted the plant built. The PSC, in a 3-2 vote, caved to political pressure.

The Commission’s political-motivated decision, though, was later overturned by the Florida Supreme Court. This time, the PSC voted 5-0 to reject the County’s novel claims of superior authority over service territory claims.  In dismissing Self’s arguments on the County’s behalf, the Commission affirmed its full and exclusive jurisdiction over service territory disputes. Notably, the Commission’s ruling is supported by every electric utility in Florida, including Florida Power & Light.

County Administrator Joe Baird recently warned the commissioners their spending habits will soon lead to tax increases. “It’s very hard to tell staff, ‘Increase everything, give $2.7 million here, $200 (thousand) there, double-digit here,’ and then say, ‘Don’t increase taxes,’” Baird said.

Quite simply, the County Commission’s appeal of the PSC ruling is going nowhere. It’s just another $180,000 wasted by so called “conservative” Republicans. To say the five members of the Indian River County Commission have been spending money like drunken sailors would be an insult to sailors.